# Cancer Epigenetics Training Program

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2020 · $292,785

## Abstract

Project Summary
The aim of the proposal is to develop a dedicated Training Program in Epigenetics and Cancer with a
translational component at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center (SCCC), University of Miami Miller
School of Medicine. The objective of the training program is to offer postdoctoral fellows a sophisticated, scientific
environment with multidisciplinary expertise encompassing epigenetics and cancer. The proposed program will
provide trainees with the ideal platform for successful careers as scientists, physicians, scientific administrators,
and entrepreneurs that will identify novel agents and devises to treat cancer. We have assembled a team of 18
SCCC members who will serve as mentors of this program, including 9 full Professors, 7 Associate Professors,
and 2 Assistant Professors. All mentors are currently supported by R01 and/or R01 equivalent funding (e.g.
Leukemia Lymphoma Society) for at least the next two years at the time of submission. The total funding of these
mentors exceeds seven million dollars per year. Most of these mentors have trained outstanding postdoctoral
fellows in the past ten years. In addition, these mentors are currently training 12 postdoctoral fellows that are
eligible for these training grants. The research expertise of these mentors includes hematologic malignancies,
carcinogenesis, epigenetics, cancer genomics, cancer biology, signal transduction, drug discovery, cancer
control, and bioinformatics. The models used in their labs include primary cells and cell lines from tumors and
animal models relevant to human cancers, such as hematopoietic malignancies, breast cancer, uveal melanoma,
lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, and brain cancer. A training program has been advanced for
the postdoctoral fellows within the Cancer Epigenetics Program at SCCC, aiming to engage them in
multidisciplinary interactions where they can get exposure to clinical cancer research and learn about unmet
research needs that they can then bring to the bench. This training program includes biweekly cancer epigenetic
colloquia for trainees, a weekly journal club, seminars from outside speakers, monthly epigenomics working
group meetings, and internal workshops for grant writing and bioinformatics. These approaches will allow the
trainees to keep up with the most up-to-date research activities and to apply advanced techniques/methods into
their studies, thereby increasing their competitiveness. In addition, individual development plans will be
implemented for each trainee to maximize their unique strengths and overcome their specific weaknesses. Our
training program will maximize diversity and make every effort to recruit trainees from populations traditionally
underrepresented in science and medicine. With our enthusiastic and dedicated mentors, carefully selected
trainees, a multidisciplinary environment, and a strong commitment from our Institution, the proposed program
will provide unique opportunities for o...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9977979
- **Project number:** 5T32CA217835-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Maria Eugenia Figueroa
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $292,785
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9977979

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9977979, Cancer Epigenetics Training Program (5T32CA217835-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9977979. Licensed CC0.

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